newbie to reloading

hello to the forum i am new to reloading. i have a lee hand press and lee 4 pc. die set also a rcbs beam scale. i just finished loading ten 40 s&w rounds. the components are:

1. once fired win. caseings.

2. win sp primers

3. win 231 powder = 5.0 gr.

4. hornady 155 gr. xtphp.

5. mol = 1.135

i will be shooting a glock 27. i checked the rounds length by field stripping the gun and placeing each round in the chamber per this forums advice. i put a factory round in the chamber first to see what it looked like and all the reloads looked the same way. as far as belling out the caseing, how much! how far will the bullet go down in the caseing? i am sure i forgot to ask somehting, but if something sounds wrong here please let me know. thanks

Bell the case just enough for the heel of the bullet to sit just inside the case. If it sits down more than a couple of thousandths of an inch, you will be over working the brass and will reduce the case life.

For a jacketed bullet, bell the case just enough to have a visible flare to the mouth. If you have seating issues, bell a LITTLE more til you get good results.

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Wow I remember my first attempt at reloading, hope you are ready it is addicting.I started out with lee it is great for beginners very inexpensive to see if it's something you are interested in. You might want to get a micrometer to ck oal (overall cartridge length), an old reloader once told me to stick to factory specs till you have enough experiance, you wont go wrong with that. also if you know someone who reloads to sit and watch them load a few is very helpful.Have fun and be safe!

thanks for the replies. shot my first 20 rounds on thur. the 9th. i loaded 10 rounds with 5 gr. win 231 and 10 with 6 gr. power pistol. the recoil was mild on both charges and so was the muzzell blast. oh, forgot to mention that i am shooting a 40 s&w with hornady 155 gr. xtphp. the bulge on the casings is very small even hardly noticeable. l got my lee manuel delivered today. there aren't very many loads using win 231 or power pistol, i wonder why. well i have alot of it and feel good about using them. the oal on the rounds using win 231 was 1.135, i feel this can be reduced to 1.125. the rounds using power pistol was a oal of 1.126 +or - alittle.well i guess thats it right now. i'll have a lot of questions later i'm sure.

Do not blindly reduce the COL. This goes for all cartridges, but particularly the .40S&W. You should strive for the longest COL that works in your gun to minimize any pressure problems that could develop with shorter rounds.
You also want to be sure to run a couple of inert "dummy" rounds through your gun to determine if bullet set-back is an issue.
Power Pistol is an excellent .40 powder. 231/HP-38 is a bit on the fast side but as long as you aren't trying for max velocity, it makes a great target powder.

Welcome to the wonderful world of reloading! I started reloading about seven years ago. My first reloads were for my Springfield XD-40. Now I'm reloading nine different calibers for pistol and rifle! It is, indeed, addicting and a fun/interesting way to spend your time!

I started using Power Pistol for my .40, and as I began reloading for .45ACP, .38SPL, and .44MAG, I found that Bullseye or Unique both work well for all (although, really, 2400 is probably the best for .44MAG in my opinion), especially in the interest of only keeping one or two pistol powders on hand instead of one for each caliber...

Sounds like you are well on your way. Keep up the good work and don't be afraid to experiment (safely) with powders/bullets, etc. I shoot a lot and have found that Oregon Trail Laser Cast bullets are (relatively) cheap and shoot well. I use them in my .40, .44, and .45, and like them for every day plinking. Spending more on some jacketed/hollowpoints is nice for home defense/target shooting, but bulk lead bullets work well, too. Just a suggestion. Good luck!

Oh, by the way, pick up a number of reloading manuals/look around online/ask in this forum for loads and OALs and any other info, as I find it best to compare different sources and handloaders. It makes me feel better about what I'm doing to hear that it's ok from an expert (and I am far from an expert)!

thanks for the replies guys. got a new small manuel at gander mountain and like it very much. also recieved my new barrel today from lone wolf distributers for my glock. i think i'll feel a little safer when i pull the trigger.